


Burns + Murdoc

by bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Creepy Murdoc, Worried!Team, as usual, injured mac, kidnapped mac, some mac whump, there's a bit of violence but I'm pretty sure I kept it within cannon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-16 05:57:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13630071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid/pseuds/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid
Summary: This takes place after episode 2x14 (Mardi Gras Beads + Chair)Murdoc sees that Mac's hands are injured and can't resist kidnapping him while he is unable to use his hands to escape.





	1. Chapter 1

“Damn it,” Mac swore quietly as he struggled with his key. The big glove bandages had been replaced by smaller bandages that allowed him to move his fingers individually, but they still made his movements clumsy. The bandages plus the pain made a simple task such as unlocking his door take forever. If he was a less stubborn person, he probably would’ve just waited the ten minutes it would take for Bozer to get home from grocery shopping, but Mac was determined to fight through the pain. He wasn’t going to let the injury keep him from getting into his own dang house. Besides, Bozer had already been mother-henning him ever since he came back from New Orleans and this would just make it worse.

Mac finally found the right key and slid it into the lock. Smiling triumphantly, he paused for a second, mentally steeling himself for the pain that turning the key would cause. Before he could put his hand back on the key, however, a noise behind him made him pause.

He didn’t have time to turn around and look before there was a sharp pain across the back of his head and everything went dark.

*****

Bozer shifted the groceries he was carrying into one arm so that he could pull out his keys with the other. He quickly flipped to his house key and started to put it into the door before realizing that there already was a set of keys dangling from the lock.

With a shake of his head and a smile, Bozer pocketed his keys and used Mac’s to open the door. He pulled them out of the door and shook them loudly as he walked into the house.

“Mac! You left your keys in the door again,” Bozer shouted as he put the groceries and Mac’s keys on the kitchen counter. He started unpacking the groceries and noticed that he received no answer from Mac. Figuring that his best friend was simply knee deep in a project, Bozer finished putting away the food. Mac tended to get very wrapped up in whatever his latest project was. That was most likely the reason for the keys being left in the door. Mac could get so lost inside his head that the rest of the world faded away.

“Mac!” Bozer went in search of his friend after dealing with the food. He poked his head into Mac’s room first and was slightly surprised to see it empty. He headed out to the balcony next and once again found it vacant. “MacGyver, where are you?” Bozer shouted, his voice rising in pitch as he started to get the feeling that something was wrong. A few months ago, Bozer wouldn’t have thought twice about an absent Mac, but now that he knew the truth about what Mac did, a missing Mac was a source of panic. Bozer raced around the house again, but his roommate was nowhere to be found.

Bozer ran out the front door and called Mac’s name again. He looked around and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the unmistakable sight of blood droplets on the front porch. Trying to remain calm, Bozer got out his phone to call in the cavalry.

*****

Murdoc knew that the other members of his collective were not going to be happy. After all, kidnapping MacGyver today wasn’t part of their carefully thought out plan. This wasn’t supposed to happen for another few weeks, after a few other pieces were in play.

However, Murdoc had been doing some recon when he had seen MacGyver’s bandaged hands. After watching the young agent struggle to get his door open, Murdoc simply couldn’t resist taking him. A Mac that couldn’t MacGyver his way out of capture was a Mac that Murdoc needed.

Murdoc drove into the abandoned warehouse they were using as a home base and hoped that he could convince the members of the collective that an injured Mac was worth breaking the plan for. Murdoc got out of the car and was slightly relieved to see that the warehouse was currently empty. Everyone else must be out working the job. 

Whistling happily, Murdoc went around the car and opened up the trunk. Inside was a bound, but still very much unconscious MacGyver. Murdoc regretted that he had to resort to physically knocking Mac out. He hoped that the agent wouldn't be too hazy and confused when he woke up. Murdoc had made a new drug cocktail that he was looking forward to trying out, but he wouldn’t be able to tell if this one worked better than the last one if MacGyver had a concussion.

With a sigh, Murdoc heaved Mac over one of his shoulders. He was glad for how thin MacGyver was as he brought him into the small room that he had been preparing for weeks. Murdoc set Mac down in a chair fitted with special bindings and strapped the agent in.

Murdoc had learned a lot from the last time he had kidnapped MacGyver. He had made the mistake of underestimating him and he wasn’t going to do that again. Even with his injured hands, Murdoc wanted to make sure that there was no way Mac was escaping this time.

Murdoc checked Mac’s head wound and was satisfied to see that the bleeding had slowed significantly. Then, he busied himself with setting up his tools as he waited for MacGyver to wake up.


	2. Chapter 2

“I can’t do this again,” Jack said as he paced across Mac’s living room. He really couldn’t believe that his partner had gotten kidnapped again.

“Well, Murdoc knew about the new cameras we put up, he waves to one of them, but he didn’t bother to avoid them,” Riley said, typing on her computer and bringing up the video. Jack, Bozer, and Matty gathered around her to watch.

The video showed Mac at his front door, struggling to open it. Jack feels a stab of guilt as he watches his partner try to get his bandaged hands to work. Just as Mac finally gets the key into the lock, Murdoc shows up on screen. Riley looks away as Murdoc hits Mac with a rock and MacGyver crumples. Jack’s horror increases tenfold as he watches Murdoc pick up his bleeding partner and wave to the camera before walking off screen.

“I’m going to kill him,” Jack says quietly and he means it. He would not hesitate to put a bullet into the man who has almost killed his entire team several times over. He knows that Mac would not approve, the younger agent always believes that there is a better way, but Jack can’t help but think that the world would be better off without Murdoc in it.

“Jack,” Matty says in a warning tone. He meets her gaze and her expression is clear. She is warning him that it is his job to bring Murdoc in alive if he can. Jack sighs because he knows that even if he wants to kill Murdoc, he will do the job and try to capture him alive.

“I know Matty, it’s just…”

“Mac,” She says knowingly and he nods.

“Does anybody else find it strange that Murdoc was alone? I thought he was making an evil supergroup?” Bozer spoke up.

“He did say that he was getting people together when he rescued Henry Fletcher from us,” Jack agreed

“So maybe the group fell apart?” Riley asked hopefully

“Or maybe it didn’t and Murdoc is just a twisted psycho who wanted to do the dirty work himself,” Jack said. 

“It doesn’t matter if Murdoc is working alone or with a team if we can’t find him. Riley, any luck identifying Murdoc’s vehicle?” Matty asked.

“Not yet, he avoided cameras getting into the car. I have footage of all of the cars that went in an out of Mac’s neighborhood around that time, but so far there are no red flags.” Riley said, frustration clear in her voice.

“One of those registrations has to be fake, you’ll find it, Riles,” Jack said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. It wasn’t that he doubted Riley’s abilities, it was that he knew how good the man they were dealing with was.

“I’ll keep digging,” Riley said, typing as fast as she could. Bozer sat next to her on the couch to act as a second pair of eyes. Jack walked into the kitchen to grab a soda, he wasn’t really thirsty, he just needed something to do.

“Jack,” Matty said quietly and he wasn’t surprised to see that she had followed him into the kitchen.

“Matty, last time he got himself out. We couldn’t find him, but he got himself out. How’s he going to do that this time? He couldn’t even open his own damn door,” Jack said miserably.

“I would’ve thought that after all this time you would know better than to underestimate Angus MacGyver,” Matty said in a sharp tone. Jack gave her a surprised look, he hadn’t expected her to get all mushy, but he had thought she would be a little more sympathetic.

“Mac is the most brilliant and capable person I know, but his big brain won’t be as effective if he can’t use his hands,” Jack found himself biting back. “And do you know who’s fault it is that he’s hurt? It’s mine, Matty. I’m the reason his hands got burnt and on top of that, I wasn’t even here protecting him!” Jack’s voice had risen to a level that was easily heard by Riley and Bozer, but he didn’t care.

“Okay, that’s enough. I knew you were blaming yourself for this, come here,” Matty instructed, pointing at the ground in front of her. Jack placed his soda on the counter and crouched in front of his boss so they were eye to eye. “Jack Dalton, none of this is your fault. Mac is an intelligent young man who knew what he was doing when he saved you from getting burned alive. And we both know how Mac would’ve reacted to you coddling him,”

“He hates that,” Jack admitted

“Yes, he does. And even if he let you take care of him, there is no way you could’ve been here 24/7. Murdoc would’ve found a way to get to him. The only person at blame here is Murdoc, so I need you to stop this pity party and focus, Mac needs us at our best.” Matty’s tone had softened considerably, but it was still stern enough to let Jack know that she meant business.

“Okay, let’s get to work,” Jack said with a nod as he stood up and grabbed his soda. He gave Matty a look that let her know that he was thankful for her words and for keeping him grounded. She nodded in response and they both headed back to where Riley and Bozer were working.

*****

If the pain in his head hadn’t been so severe, MacGyver would’ve thought he was having a nightmare. He had certainly had this very nightmare many times before. But his dreams never had pain that felt this vivid.

Mac forced himself to look past the pain and haziness and focus on his surroundings. He was strapped to a chair. There were thick metal bands around his wrists, ankles, and torso. There was an IV next to him, but to his surprise, he wasn’t hooked up to it. He was in a small room with nothing in it. There were no windows and the only way out appeared to be a very heavily reinforced door.

Mac knew that Murdoc was behind this, and he appeared to have stepped things up after Mac’s last escape. Mac experimentally twisted his wrists in their bindings, but he only succeeded in sending a wave of pain through his hands. The metal didn’t budge and Mac wasn’t sure if he could even pick a lock with his stupid, clumsy, injured hands.

The door banged open and a high pitched whistle reverberated around the tiny room and inside Mac’s head, causing him to wince. He blinked away the pain as he watched Murdoc stroll through the door. Murdoc brought a chair with him and set it right in front of Mac. He sat down and leaned forward to study Mac closely. The situation was almost identical to the last time he had been kidnapped and Mac felt a wave of panic, but he ignored it and forced himself to stare back at the man defiantly.

“It seems Angus, that you insist on doing my job for me,” Murdoc said, leaning even closer to Mac. He reached out and grabbed Mac’s hands, squeezing them lightly. That was all it took for Mac to yell out in pain. He tried to jerk away but was unable to move because of the restraints. The movement only sent fresh a wave of pain through his skull and caused black spots to dance across his vision.

Murdoc released him and leaned back, making a tsking sound. “You are in rough shape already MacGyver, and I haven’t even started my torture yet. You may have noticed that I haven't hooked you up to my new concoction.” Murdoc said, tilting his head in the direction of the IV. “I wanted to make sure that bump on your head wasn’t making you too confused.”

Murdoc looked at Mac in expectation, obviously waiting for a reply, but Mac wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction. Mac simply sat there, looking at Murdoc and trying to hide all signs of weakness. Murdoc took great pleasure in getting a reaction from Mac, so he was determined to not give him one.

“So MacGyver, how is that big brain of yours feeling?” Murdoc prodded after a few moments of silence.

“Like I just got knocked out,” Mac finally responded dryly.

“Oh, I am sorry about that Angus, I would’ve much rather tasered you or drugged you, but this was a spur of the moment thing,” Murdoc said with a creepy smile. Even with his brain working slightly slower than normal, Mac was surprised to hear that Murdoc had done something without fully planning it out. It wasn’t like Murdoc to act spontaneously and Mac wondered if this was another one of his lies.

Before Mac had a chance to question that, there was a sound from outside of the door and Murdoc turned towards it. Mac was surprised to see that for a split second his expression looked apprehensive. When Murdoc turned back to Mac, however, his face was purposefully blank.

“I’m sorry, dear Angus, but the rest of this chat is going to have to wait,” Murdoc said, standing up and patting Mac a little too hard on his cheek. “Now, between your head, your hands, and my new and improved chair, I don’t think you will be getting out anytime soon. But, I learned a lot last time you escaped, so this time around I am not taking any chances,” Murdoc said with a smile as he walked over to the IV bag.

Mac felt the panic return as Murdoc picked up the needle and waved it at him teasingly. He could still remember the confusion he had felt last time and from the sounds of things, this time would be worse. Mac started to squirm as much as was possible when Murdoc took a step closer to him.

“Now Angus, we can do this the easy way or we can do it the hard way. The easy way involves you sitting still while I put this in and the hard way involves me knocking you out again. It doesn’t much matter to me which way this goes,” Murdoc said and gave another too wide smile when Mac stilled. “Good boy, Angus,” He said patronizingly as he moved closer. Mac waited until the needle had almost touched his skin before jerking his arm. Murdoc gave a sigh and stepped back, his expression neutral. “I guess the hard way it is,” He said and before Mac could do anything else, Murdoc’s fist collided with his face and for the second time that day, everything went dark.

*****

Murdoc finished putting Mac’s IV in quickly. He could hear Henry outside, calling for him. Murdoc needed to get out there and explain the situation. If he could get Henry on his side, then the rest of the collective would follow.

Before he exited, Murdoc took Mac’s chin in his hand and tilted the unconscious agent’s face up towards him. There was already a bruise beginning to form on his pale cheek, and Murdoc couldn’t help but think that it was a shame that he had to mess up MacGyver’s pretty face. Unfortunately, the young man had left him with no choice. Murdoc knew that he would not stop struggling and he simply hadn’t had time to come up with a different solution.

Releasing Mac’s face with a sigh. Murdoc turned to head out of the door, dreading the conversation he was about to have.


	3. Chapter 3

“Got it,” Riley said after way too long in Jack’s opinion. “This car here is definitely registered under a fake name. The car has no speeding or parking tickets and it’s an old car but this current registration is only a year old and there is nothing before that.”

“Good job Riles, now can you find it?” Jack pressed. Identifying the car was only the first step and there was a good chance it would end up being a dead end anyway.

“We put out an APB and we have been using cameras to track the car's movement,” Bozer jumped in.

“How long until-” Matty was cut off by Riley’s sudden exclamation,

“Here, found it!” She turned her computer to show a map with a blinking red light. “He dumped the car not too far from here.” Riley turned the computer back and started typing. “Wait…”

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked, dread filling him. Riley was looking at her computer intently and wearing the same look that Mac did when something wasn’t right.

“Um, nothing, actually it’s good news,”

“What are you talking about?” Matty asked, going to stand next to Riley so she could see her screen.

“Murdoc dumped the car in an area with no traffic cameras, but there was a security camera that caught him stealing another one,” Riley said. She brought up the video and they all gathered around to watch. It was a grainy video shot pointed at the front door of a shop. Riley zoomed into the corner of the shot and they could just make out the entrance to an alleyway. They saw a vehicle entering the alley matching the car Riley had described. A few moments later Murdoc himself walked out of the alley. They lost him when he walked out of the shot and a little while later a different car drove into the alley. After a few more minutes, that same new car drove back out.

“Okay, this is good. We have his new car, we can trace that right?” Jack said, not really sure why his fellow team members weren’t more excited about this.

“Yes, Jack, but it is unlike Murdoc to make a mistake like this,” Matty said, her voice full of warning.

“You think this is a trap,” Jack said, everything finally clicking into place.

“I think that’s safe to assume,” Bozer said. His voice was high and fast and Jack could tell that he was freaking out. Jack couldn’t blame the kid, hell, he had a lot more experience when it came to this kind of thing and he was freaking out himself.

“Look, I don’t care if it is a trap. We have to take that chance,” Jack said.

“Of course we are going to follow this lead, but we have to be smart about it Jack,” Matty responded. Jack took a deep breath and attempted to gain control of his swirling emotions. He wanted to yell and scream and take out his frustration on the team, but he knew they didn’t deserve that. They all wanted Mac back just as much as he did and they were all just as scared for his safety.

“Okay, okay fine. Can we just please do whatever we are going to do quickly?” Jack asked

“I’m working on figuring out where the new car ended up right now, Jack,” Riley assured him.

“Work faster,” Jack pleaded impatiently

“She’s going as fast as she can,” Bozer came to Riley’s defense immediately.

“I know, I know,” Jack said, backing off when he realized he was being too intense.

“He’s not taking many precautions to stay off the radar, so either he’s too cocky and doesn’t think he’ll be caught, or…”

“Yeah, we know Riley, or it’s a trap,” Jack said tiredly

“Right, but either way it shouldn’t be difficult to find where he went,” Riley finished explaining. “We’ll find him, Jack,” She said seriously, looking at him with an expression that pleaded with him to trust her.

“I know you will Riles,” He said, giving her a smile that he didn’t really feel. Riley seemed satisfied however because she nodded and turned her attention back to her computer.

“Matty, is there a team ready to move on whatever location Riley finds?” Jack asked

“Ready and waiting,” She confirmed.

“Good,” Now all they had to do was figure out where that bastard took Mac and hope that they weren’t walking into a trap.

*****

“That’s it Murdoc, I’m done,” Henry said when Murdoc explained the situation.

“Henry, please be reasonable, we can still go through with the plan, it’s just a little sooner than expected,” Murdoc tried to speak in a voice that he hoped was soothing.

“No, this is not how a team operates Murdoc. You’ve put us all in danger with this stunt,” Henry paced the floor, showing more emotion than Murdoc had ever seen from the man before.

“I switched cars, I took back roads, and avoided cameras, the plan can still work.”

“The plan was to take out the entire team!” Henry exploded

“I don’t care about the team,” Murdoc said in a huff. Sure he had fantasized about the deaths of the other team members and would have greatly enjoyed killing them, but MacGyver was the only one that he truly wanted.

“That kid in there might be a threat, but the rest of his team is no joke either. Remember we decided that the safest way would be to neutralize them all at the same time?” Henry said in a clipped tone. “Having your precious MacGyver means nothing if his team finds him.”

“They won’t,” Murdoc assured him.

“I’m not so sure,” Henry remained unconvinced.

“Then we can move locations again. Your specialty is making people disappear. You can hide us well enough that MacGyver’s team will never find us.” Murdoc had the feeling that he was fighting a losing battle. It had been hard enough to convince Henry to work with him and now he was afraid that he had messed it up.

“That’s what I was going to do when we kidnapped him next month. It takes time to make someone disappear,” Henry said in frustration. There was a muffled cry of pain from the room where he was keeping Mac. Both men turned to look in that direction. “Sounds like your boy toy is awake,” Henry said, turning away.

“Wait, where are you going?” Murdoc asked as Henry moved towards his car.

“I’m going to go meet with the other members of the collective and discuss whether or not we are coming back,” Henry responded.

“You can’t be serious, don’t throw away everything we have worked so hard towards.”

“You already did. And just in case you weren’t as careful as you thought you were, I don’t want to be anywhere near here for the time being,” Henry said as he got into his car. Before Murdoc could say another word, Henry slammed the door and sped away.

Murdoc watched him drive away without feeling. He knew that he should be disappointed to hear that he might be losing the team he had just formed, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He’d recruited each member of the collective because they possessed some skill that was useful to him. Although working as a team increased his chances of success, Murdoc had been working on his own for his entire life and could easily continue to do so.

Besides, he had MacGyver now, and that was really all he wanted. Murdoc grabbed his tablet with the security feeds on it and his toolbox and headed into the room where he was keeping Mac.

*****

Mac knew that he was in danger and he knew that he was supposed to be figuring out how to escape, but every time he tried to concentrate he found his mind drifting. He couldn’t focus on anything long enough to come up with a plan.

His head hurt, his hands hurt, his arm hurt, and the room felt like it was spinning.

It took Mac a few seconds to realize that there was a face close to his. Murdoc. Mac hadn’t even realized that he was in the room.

“Can you hear me, Angus?” Murdoc asked, but his voice sounded very far away, even though his face was nearby.

“Murdoc…” Mac gasped, his voice sounded weak and it took more effort than he liked to get out the word.

“My, my, I think I may have started you off on a slightly too high dose,” He heard Murdoc say with laughter. Murdoc moved out of his field of vision and Mac couldn’t bring himself to make the effort to move his head.

“Jack…” Mac said, only half realizing that he’d spoken out loud.

“He couldn’t find you last time and he won’t find you this time. It’s just you and me,” Murdoc said as he moved back in front of Mac.

Mac felt himself slipping and he fought to remain conscious. Jack and the team would find him, they had to find him. He just had to hold out until then.

“...kick in, it’s no fun when you’re this out of it,” Murdoc’s voice reached his ears and Mac realized that he’d been talking without Mac hearing most of what he was saying.

Murdoc continued talking, but Mac could no longer hear it. His vision tunneled and all he could see was Murdoc’s mouth moving. Then, even that disappeared as he lost the fight to stay conscious and passed out.


	4. Chapter 4

Murdoc impatiently waited for Mac to wake up. He’d lowered the dose so hopefully, once MacGyver regained consciousness again he would be more functional. Murdoc wasn’t sure if it was the potency of his concoction or MacGyver’s head injury, but when Murdoc had first walked into the room, Mac hadn’t seemed like he was really aware of anything that was happening.

Since torture was wasted on someone who didn’t know it was happening, Murdoc had decided to lower the dose and wait for it to take effect.

While he waited, he thought about all that Henry had said to him. He couldn’t really blame the man for having doubts. Hell, if any of the other members of the collective had pulled a stunt like this, Murdoc probably would’ve killed them. But Murdoc was not the other members, and he was the best in the world at what he did.

Still, he reviewed the events of the day in his head. He’d known about the cameras at MacGyver’s house, and he knew that they had not captured his getaway vehicle. But just to be safe, he had still switched cars in an alleyway that had no street cameras anywhere near it. He hadn’t taken the most out of the way route back to the warehouse, but he also hadn’t taken the most direct one, sticking to back roads as much as possible.

Henry might doubt his abilities, but Murdoc didn’t. Even without the doubt, he still considered if he should move Mac to a different location. But he ultimately decided that would be riskier. Murdoc had spent weeks making sure that room was MacGyver proof and if he moved him to a new, less secure location, chances were that Mac would find some way out.

Besides, there was no way they could track him to the warehouse.

“Uhhh,” Mac groaned as he slowly started to come to. Murdoc sat up straight in his chair in excitement. He watched as MacGyver slowly processed the situation he was in. He tested his restraints and then looked around the room. Murdoc gave him a smile when Mac’s gaze finally settled on him. Murdoc was relieved to see that although his eyes were hazy, they were more alert than they had been. Good, now they could have some fun.

“Ah, Angus, welcome back,” Murdoc said gleefully.

“How about we save the small talk, and you just tell me what you want,” Mac said, his voice low. He kept shifting against his bonds, but they didn’t let him move much. He was also sweating and the bruise on his cheek continued to darken in color.

“I don’t want anything from you MacGyver, except your pain that is,” Murdoc said. He watched in fascination as Mac’s eyes narrowed as the agent tried to figure out what exactly that meant.

“So, you’ve given up on your son?” Mac asked slowly, in a tone that indicated he wasn’t surprised. Murdoc knew that he should be offended at the insinuation, but he was more interested in why that had been Mac’s first thought.

“You mean like your father gave up on you?” Murdoc said evenly and enjoyed the flash of anger in Mac’s eyes. It could be hard to make MacGyver angry, but he was a sight to see when he finally exploded.

“I knew...you couldn’t really care...about your son,” Mac said, clearly trying to fight against the drugs and the emotions swirling inside of him. Murdoc was disappointed to see that the blonde gained relative control of his anger.

“Nonsense, I care about my son more than I have ever cared about anyone,” Murdoc said, and he meant it.

“So why aren’t…” Mac trailed off and his eyes widened. “You know where your son is.” Mac’s alarm was clear in his face.

“Even drugged, you are still the most intelligent person I have ever met,” Murdoc said, delighted that Mac had picked up on his hints. Having MacGyver figure it out on his own was more enjoyable than just telling me.

“You will never get to him,” Mac said jerking against his bindings like he was going to stop Murdoc himself. The movement clearly hurt his hands and he gasped in pain.

“Oh, I will. Right after I finish up with you,” Murdoc gave Mac his brightest smile. “But for right now, I’m afraid I lied to you. I do want something from you, Angus. I want you to tell me how you injured your hands,” Murdoc had to admit that he was curious.

“What?” Mac was clearly taken by surprise by the question.

“Did you burn them?”

“That’s classified,” Mac said. He was clearly feeling the effects of the drug and probably a concussion. His speech was more hesitant than normal, he was blinking slowly like he was fighting off sleep, and it seemed like even keeping his head up took a lot of effort. Murdoc figured that he would not take much convincing to spill the beans.

“Oh come on Angus, you know you can trust me not to tell anyone,” Murdoc tried the nice way one last time, knowing full well what MacGyver’s response was going to be.

“You know, that’s probably true, but just because you don’t have anyone in your life to tell,” MacGyver shot right back.

“If that’s the case, then who did I go talk to earlier?” Murdoc said, not feeling the need to add that as of currently, that person wasn’t speaking to him,

“You…” MacGyver trailed off, clearly struggling to remember what Murdoc was talking about. Murdoc watched as Mac put the pieces into place. “Henry Fletcher,” He said finally.

“Very good, Angus,” Murdoc gave him a few slow claps. “I have a whole collective of bad guys that I talk to, but we’ve gotten off the topic. I won’t tell any of them the story of how you hurt your hands, cross my heart,” Murdoc drew an x shape over his heart.

“Still not tellin’,” Mac drawled. Murdoc had to hand it to the young agent, he was brave.

“Then the fun way it is,” Murdoc said with a smile and flipped open a knife.

*****

Jack had moved to the back deck to pace. Or rather, he had been instructed by Matty to leave the room. He couldn’t blame her, he’d been snapping at everyone and asking Riley every ten seconds if she’d found something. Jack knew he was impeding the process, but he just couldn’t help himself. He hated feeling helpless and at the current moment, there was nothing he could do to help get Mac back.

“Here,” Bozer entered the deck with a sandwich on a plate and held it out to Jack.

“I’m not hungry,” Jack said, turning back to the LA skyline.

“Hey, my PB and Js are legendary, no one turns them down. Besides, you probably haven’t eaten since breakfast,” Bozer held the plate closer to Jack.

“I’ll eat when we get Mac back.”

“Don’t be a martyr. You not eating isn’t going to help Mac, besides, you need to keep up your strength for the trap you will most likely be walking into. So don’t be stupid and eat the damn sandwich,” Bozer had the plate right next to Jack’s face at this point and Jack could tell that he was ten seconds away from force-feeding Jack the sandwich himself.

“It does smell good,” Jack gave in with a smile and took the plate. He took a bite and was surprised at how hungry he really was. In no time at all, he demolished the sandwich.

“I knew you were hungry,” Bozer said in satisfaction. “I’ll make you another one. And before you ask, Riley is getting close, but she still hasn’t found Murdoc. Once he got out of the city he took back roads so she has to use satellite to follow him and it’s a lot trickier than traffic cams.” Bozer updated Jack before taking the plate out of his hand and heading back inside. Jack marveled at how much Bozer had grown. The new agent was best friends with Mac and had to be as worried about him as Jack was, but Bozer was holding himself together amazingly well. Jack knew that he was probably compartmentalizing and focusing on the task at hand. That could be hard to do when an agent was emotionally compromised, but Bozer was keeping it together like a champ. The young man was shaping up to be an excellent agent.

Jack turned back to the balcony, this time looking as far past the city as he could see. Mac was out there somewhere hurt and alone with a madman, they had to find him, and soon.

*****

Mac’s eyes widened when Murdoc flipped open the knife. Not because it was a weapon, but because it was his weapon. Seeing Murdoc with Mac’s red Swiss Army knife in his hands made his stomach twist in anger.

“Shiny new knife MacGyver, what happened to the old one that dear old grandfather gave you?” Murdoc said with a sickly sweet tone.

“It was time for an upgrade,” Mac lied.

“Hmm, I don’t think that’s the truth, but I’ll let that one go for now since I have more pressing questions that need answering,” Murdoc said and moved his chair closer to Mac. The high pitch scraping noise it made caused Mac’s headache to increase tenfold. “Ah yes, that head of yours must be pounding,” Murdoc reached up and Mac jerked his head away, which really didn’t help the pain. Murdoc laughed and patted his cheek right where he’d punched him earlier. Mac could tell by the pain that it was badly bruised. 

“So...what are your buddies getting out of this arrangement. You obviously get to have your fun with me, but what do they get? Are you guys ransoming me off to Phoenix?” Mac asked, trying to both distract Murdoc and get him talking so he would let some information slip. It was taking everything that he had to concentrate on the conversation. His head hurt and the drugs swirling around in his system weren’t helping, but Mac knew he needed to figure a way out.

“Don’t you worry about that,” Murdoc didn’t take the bait, much to Mac’s disappointment.

“Because if you’re trying to ransom me, it won’t work. Matty is never going to trust you to stick to your word. Your friends are in for a disappointment,” Mac tried again.

“I said don’t worry about it. What you should be worrying about is your health if you don’t tell me what you did to your hands,” Murdoc said. Before Mac could form a word, Murdoc reached out and grabbed one of his hands. Mac yelled in shock and pain, he tried to get out of Murdoc’s grasp, but only succeeded in hurting himself more. Murdoc brought the hand with the knife closer and Mac could do nothing but watch. To his surprise, Murdoc almost delicately slid the knife up his bandages.

Mac bit back another yell as Murdoc peeled the bandages off of his sensitive skin. The fabric tugged at the unhealed wounds and the air stung. Once he’d finished, Murdoc leaned close to examine his hand.

“So, you burned them then. Ready to tell me what happened, or do I have to do the other one?” Murdoc asked in a way that indicated he’d rather do the latter. Mac’s hand felt like it was in the fire all over again, but he didn’t respond to Murdoc. After a few seconds, Murdoc gave him a disturbing smile. “Let’s see that other hand then.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Murdoc steps up his torture in this chapter. It's not overly disturbing or descriptive (at least I don't think it's above canon-level violence and creepiness), but I'm giving people a heads up just in case. If you want to skip that part, you can read until the ***** and then stop.

Jack walked back into the living room just as the doorbell rang. “I’ve got it,” he called as he made his way past the kitchen. He paused a few feet from the door as a thought occurred to him. “Unless you guys ordered food, ‘cause I ain’t paying.”

“Nobody ordered food, Jack,” Matty said in a tired tone.

“Well in that case,” Jack said as he swung open the door. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that the man standing on Mac’s front porch was none other than Henry Fletcher. Within the next heartbeat he had his gun out and pointed at the man, “Arms up! Get on your knees!”

“Jack, What is going on?” He heard Riley ask as his team members rushed to his side.

“Fletcher,” Matty said, disgust clear in her voice.

“Bozer, pat him down,” Jack instructed, never taking his eyes off of Fletcher or his finger off of the trigger.

“I’m not armed,” Henry said in an almost bored voice. “I just came to talk to you all.” Bozer gave a nod to indicate that he was indeed unharmed and Jack took his finger off of the trigger but kept the gun where it was.

“What are you doing here? Where’s Mac?” Jack demanded

“Jack, maybe we should take this inside?” Matty, ever the voice of reason, suggested.

“Yeah, okay. Get him up Bozer. You make any sudden moves and I’ll put one in you.” Jack threatened as Bozer guided Fletcher into the living room.

“I have to say, I’m surprised that you all decided to run the rescue mission from here, considering this is where Mac was taken from. It’s far from a secure location.” Fletcher noted as he looked around the room. Jack took a step closer and grabbed the front of the man’s shirt.

“Where the hell is he?”

“Jack,” Riley gasped slightly at his outburst, but Jack didn’t relax.

“That’s precisely what I came here to tell you,” Henry said calmly and Jack released him, more out of surprise than anything else.

“You came here to tell us where you are keeping Mac?” Bozer asked.

“I came here to tell you where Murdoc is keeping Mac,” Fletcher corrected.

“I thought you two were working together?” Matty asked. Fletcher sat down on the coffee table so that he was eye level with Matty.

“We were, and there were more than two of us. Murdoc called us ‘the Collective’, and we had a plan that would have wiped your miserable team off of the map.” Henry threatened and Jack took a step forward to grab the man again, but Matty put up a warning hand, her gaze still locked on Fletcher’s.

“And what happened to this plan of yours?” She asked

“Angus MacGyver happened. Murdoc kidnapped him earlier than planned. Something about injured hands and how it would be safer if MacGyver couldn’t escape. He didn’t seem to care that he messed up the rest of the plan. All he cares about is MacGyver,” Henry said and Jack felt another stab of guilt upon hearing that Murdoc had kidnapped Mac because of his burnt hands. Knowing where his thoughts would head, Matty sent him a look and he forced the guilt down.

“So, you saw that the plan was bust and decided to bail?” Jack finished and Fletcher looked at him and nodded.

“There was no way the plan was happening once Murdoc had MacGyver, plus, it was such a spontaneous kidnapping that I was worried Murdoc had made a mistake.”

“You were right to be worried,” Bozer scoffed and both Riley and Matty sent him disapproving looks. 

“So he did overlook something,” Fletcher said, looking around at them.

“What exactly is it that you want?” Matty asked, getting back to the base of the conversation.

“I’ll tell you exactly where to find Murdoc and your precious MacGyver, and you give me 10 thousand dollars and let me walk out of here.” Henry was looking at Matty again, obviously knowing that she was the head of the team.

“Absolutely not, we can’t let this school teacher go free, also, it might be a trap. Besides, Riley is close to finding Mac anyways,” Jack said, not trusting anything that came out of the man’s mouth.

“Jack, I can find him, but depending on how far away he is, it might take me awhile. And the longer that takes…” Riley trailed off, the implication clear. The longer it took them to locate Mac, the longer he was probably getting tortured by Murdoc.

“Besides, Murdoc is way worse than Fletcher,” Bozer added.

“I’ll try not to be offended by that,” the man said.

“Oh go ahead and be offended,” Jack huffed. “Are we really thinking about doing this?” He was prepared to get Mac back at any cost, but this could all be part of Murdoc’s plan and them getting sent on a wild goose chase, or killed, wouldn’t help Mac.

“I don’t think we have a choice,” Matty said, her voice resigned. “Riley can keep working on locating Murdoc, but in the meantime, I think we have to try this.”

“Okay boss,” Jack didn’t like it one bit, but he trusted Matty’s judgment. “So how do we do this?”

“You get me 10 thousand in cash and let me walk out that door and once I am safely away, I text you MacGyver’s location.”

“Like hell. There is no way you are walking out of this house with the money without telling us where Mac is,” Jack growled.

“Well I don’t trust you to let me walk out once I do,” Henry responded. He was annoyingly calm in a way that made Jack want to start throwing punches.

“Fletcher, if we wanted to follow you, there is nothing that you could do to stop it, but we are more concerned about our missing agent and the madman holding him. So you are going to take the money, tell us where MacGyver is, and walk away. Take it or leave it, but know that we have Murdoc on tape switching vehicles. We can find him without you, so I am not bluffing when I say that I will arrest you right now if you don’t agree to those terms.” Matty said her piece in her scariest, most secret agent voice. It seemed to work on Fletcher because he nodded immediately.

“It’s a deal.”

“Good, and know if you double cross us, we’ll be coming for you,” Matty threatened. Then she turned to Jack, “I’ll make some calls about the money, you watch him.”

“With pleasure.”

*****

Murdoc knew that MacGyver’s hands had to be killing him. Murdoc had experienced enough cigarette burns as a child to know how much burns could hurt. MacGyver’s hands were red and blistered and far worse than anything Murdoc had been subjected to.

He had to hand it to the blonde, he was putting on a brave face. MacGyver was trying not to show how much pain he was in and he hadn’t given in to telling Murdoc what happened. Murdoc was impressed, to say the least, especially because Murdoc wasn’t asking for that much.

“It will be far less painful to just tell me,” Murdoc coaxed, even though he knew that Mac was stubborn and determined not to give him any satisfaction. Murdoc took one of Mac’s hands and flipped it over, then he lightly ran the blade of MacGyver’s knife down his palm. He applied just enough pressure to draw blood. MacGyver yelled in pain as his tender hand were injured further.

Before MacGyver had time to recover, Murdoc sliced along Mac’s collarbone, where the skin was exposed. This time he pressed a bit deeper. Mac squeezed his eyes shut and his breaths came in gasps. Murdoc was once again impressed by the young agent’s tolerance for pain. Deciding to step up his game, he opted for stabbing instead of slicing. He stabbed MacGyver in the stomach, knowing that with a knife this small, it wouldn’t do too much damage. After all, Murdoc wanted to be able to take his time with this.

MacGyver let out another yell when he was stabbed and tried to double over to protect himself, but his restraints wouldn’t let him.

“Nuh, uh, uh Angus,” Murdoc took hold of his hair and yanked his head up, twisting the knife at the same time. Murdoc watched as MacGyver’s face scrunched up in pain. After a few moments, Murdoc released his hair and pulled the knife out. Murdoc stepped back as Mac winced and gasped for air. “Feeling more talkative MacGyver?” He asked.

“Why...are you tired, already? I have to say...as far as torture goes...this is disappointing” MacGyver said, his taunting words underscored by a voice filled with pain.

“That was just round one Macgyver, what do you say we make things a little more interesting?” Murdoc said as he put down Mac’s knife in favor of his revolver. “When I was a child, I once broke into my father’s gun safe. I had heard about a fun game you could play with them and I wanted to try it,” Murdoc said as he opened the cylinder and dumped out the bullets. They bounced off of the concrete with a metallic sound. Murdoc bent down and picked up one of the bullets. “Russian roulette, it’s a fascinating idea, isn’t it? So exhilarating to face down death and survive it. So I got my father’s gun, loaded one bullet in it, and convinced my younger sister to play with me.” Murdoc said as he loaded the bullet into his revolver. “I went first, I spun the cylinder, put the gun to my head…” Murdoc spun the cylinder of the gun in his hands and pointed it at McGyver. “...and I pulled the trigger,” Murdoc said and he squeezed the trigger of the gun. There was an empty click, but Murdoc was pleased to see that Mac flinched.

“I felt the same rush of adrenaline that you are feeling right now. Then I handed the gun to little sis, and I am afraid to say that she was not as lucky as I was. On her first turn, she ended up getting the bullet.”

“You’re lying,” Mac said, his voice still tight with pain. “You told that story because you knew it would get a reaction out of me...because...because that’s how…” MacGyver trailed off, wincing. Murdoc wasn’t sure if it was from physical pain or emotional pain.

“Yes, yes, you got me. That’s how Wilt’s younger brother died, well the daddy’s gun part at least.” Murdoc wasn’t worried about being caught in a lie. He could see the anger and pain swirling in MacGyver’s eyes and knew that he his story had done the trick. “I was researching your little team and came across that delicious piece of information and just couldn’t help myself.”

“You…” Mac trailed off, clearly trying to get a handle on his emotions. Murdoc had to assume that his physical pain wasn’t helping with that. Murdoc was once again disappointed when Mac set his jaw and lifted his head up to stare at Murdoc. His face was far from blank, but it was clear that he wasn’t going to be saying any more on that topic.

“Well Angus, are you feeling chatty yet? Or would you rather play another round?” Murdoc asked, waving his gun.

“Just shoot me already,” Mac said through gritted teeth, and Murdoc happily obliged.


	6. Chapter 6

Mac almost blacked out as white-hot pain shot through his shoulder. He gasped through nausea and dizziness as the pain subsided slightly. On top of everything, the impact of the bullet also aggravated his other injuries. Mac could vaguely hear Murdoc laughing as he fought through the waves of pain.

“Second bullet, just like my sister,” He heard Murdoc say gleefully as the room slowly came back into his awareness.

“I thought…we established...wasn’t true,” Mac said, cursing how out of breath he was.

“Oh that’s right, well I am going to go hit the loo, give you some time to think about your options. When I get back we can either have a nice chat or start on round three,” Murdoc gave Mac his best sinister smile and exited the room.

Mac wasn’t sure what Murdoc was really doing, but he didn’t have the energy to waste thinking about that. Instead, he did what Murdoc had said and weighed his options. He really didn’t know how much more torture he could take. It was both physically and mentally draining, something that Murdoc’s drugs didn’t help with. Mac also knew that he had to keep Murdoc occupied until he figured a way out or Jack found him. 

Of course, neither of those would help if he died of blood loss. Luckily he didn’t think that the bullet wound was bleeding too badly. He was more concerned about the one in his abdomen. It wasn’t a very large or deep cut, but he could tell that it was still bleeding. His first priority had to be to try to avoid getting any more holes put in him.

As much as Mac hated to give into Murdoc, he had to admit that it was probably time to throw his chips in, at least with this one story. He could draw out the story as much as possible and give his teammates time to find him.

“So Angus,” Murdoc said, throwing the door open and startling Mac. “Are you ready to talk?”

“Yes,” Mac forced himself to say, hating that it made him seem week.

“Oh very good!” Murdoc clapped his hands together like an excited child. “And no lying MacGvyer, I will know if you are lying.”

“I won’t lie,” Mac wasn’t even sure if he had the mental capacity at the moment to lie if he wanted to. “It was down in New Orleans…”

*****

Jack threw the duffel bag at Henry Fletcher’s feet. Henry picked it up and Jack kept his gun trained on him the whole time.

“Pleasure doing business with you all,” He said with a smile too bright for the situation.

“Where’s Mac?” Jack growled

“Down boy, he’s in an old abandoned warehouse, here’s the address,” Fletcher held out a folded piece of paper which Jack snatched and passed to Riley. She took the paper and immediately started typing. “Now if you don’t mind?” Fletcher said, nodding his head at Jack’s gun.

“Get out of here,” Jack said, lowering his gun. Fletcher gave them one last smile and headed out of the door. “Talk to me, Riles.”

“I’ve got it, it’s about an hour away from-” Riley cut off suddenly as everything went dark.

“What happened? Did we lose power?” Bozer asked. It was early evening and Jack could just barely make out his teammates

“No, no, no, no, something much worse,” Riley said, frantically hitting buttons on her laptop, which Jack now realized was also dark. “I think Fletcher hit us with an EMP,”

“Probably to ensure that we didn’t follow him,” Matty offered.

“Okay, well we weren’t going to follow him. But we have the address now, so let’s go,” Jack snapped impatiently. He could care less about all of their gadgets not working. “My car will still work right?”

“Yes, the one time being old is a good thing,” Riley said, never missing an opportunity to point out his age.

“Jack, you can’t go in dark, this still might be a trap,” Matty pointed out.

“I know that, but Matty, we have to get to him,” They were so close to being able to get Mac back, and he could feel his desperation rising. He had to get to his partner.

“We will, let’s just take a pit stop at the Phoenix first okay? Riley can get back online, and you can get coms, gear, and a tack team.”

“Okay, let’s go then,” Jack turned and started walking out of the door. As much as he wanted to rush right to the address they’d been given, he knew Matty was right. “Hang on Mac,” Jack whispered, “We’re coming for ya bud.”

*****

“By the time I got to the incinerator, Jack was already inside a wooden coffin that was burning. I tried to find some way to pull him out...but everything that I could think of would take too long, so I-”

“You pulled him out with your bare hands!” Murdoc couldn’t help but interrupt, delighted at the story. Mac shot him a look and he put his hands up. “Sorry, sorry, I got excited, do go on.”

“I used my bare hands...to pull out the coffin, and then I pushed it off the table. Jack was still on fire in some places so I patted those out with my hands too...The pain didn’t really hit me until a few moments later.” Mac winced at the memory and Murdoc saw that he was shifting his hands slightly. The story had taken a long time for him to tell, he’d spared no detail and spoke sluggishly, but it had been worth it for the ending.

“Well MacGyver, out of all of the possible scenarios I came up with, you doing it to yourself was not one of the things I considered,”

“I did it...to save Jack,” MacGyver said tiredly. He was very clearly feeling all of his injuries. Murdoc had bandaged the stab wound, but he knew that MacGyver was still bleeding. He was paler than normal and kept shivering. Murdoc figured that cauterizing the wound would be the best bet. That way they could continue to have their fun.

Murdoc got up to get his lighter, but before he could, there was a beeping from his tablet. He turned the screen on and saw that one of his perimeter alarms had been triggered. Murdoc pulled up the video and saw Jack Dalton creeping around the outside of the building.

“Damn it!” Murdoc yelled and MacGyver jumped at his sudden outburst. Murdoc could feel those blue eyes looking at him, trying to read the situation. “I’m afraid we are going to have to cut this short,” Murdoc said in resignation. He still had time to escape, he always made sure that he had an exit strategy. He was just sorry to lose out on his time with MacGyver.

Murdoc got a piece of paper and scribbled a quick note on it. Then he placed the note on MacGyver’s leg. Before MacGyver could lean over and read the note, Murdoc stabbed Mac’s knife through the note and into the Agent’s leg. MacGyver yelled in surprise and pain.

“Be seeing you, Angus,” Murdoc said and slipped out of the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Jack moved inside of the warehouse, Bozer and the rest of the team following behind him. The place was huge and was going to take forever to search.

“Looks like we are in the right place,” Jack whispered when he spotted the car Riley had been tracking in the main room. He was pretty surprised that Fletcher seemed to have given them good information. Of course, this could still all be a trap. There was a shout of pain from the other side of the building. Jack recognized the voice as Mac’s immediately. It was only his years of training that kept him from sprinting towards the sound. Bozer, however, was still a new agent and started to move towards the far side. Jack grabbed his arm to keep him still.

“That was Mac, we have to find him,” Bozer said, trying to pull out of Jack’s grip.

“I know bud, and we are, you just have to keep your head. We still don’t know if this is a trap or not. I know it’s hard, but remember your training,” Jack tried to calm down the young man. After a few moments, Bozer nodded and stop fighting him. Jack dropped his hand. “Good, now let’s go,”

They methodically made their way around the warehouse, but there was no sign of anybody else. The more time went on, the more Jack was convinced that Fletcher had actually been telling the whole truth. Jack reached a door that appeared to have been reinforced. He knew this had to be the one. His heart rate picked up as he slowly opened the door. 

Jack's stomach dropped as he took in the sight in front of him. Mac, strapped to a chair, bleeding, and seemingly unconscious. Jack rushed to his partner’s side without another thought. He didn’t even bother to clear the room. He knew the other agents would take care of that. He only concern right now was Mac.

“Mac, hey Mac, it’s okay buddy, I’m here,” Jack took his partner’s face in his hands and tried to get him to wake up. Mac didn’t stir, but he was breathing and had a pulse. Jack started to assess what his injuries were. The place on the back of his head where Jack had seen Murdoc hit in in the video had a giant bump, but the bleeding seemed to have stopped. The on his collarbone would probably need stitches, and his hands looked like they were in rough shape. But the worst injuries seemed to be his shoulder, abdomen, and leg. They were all bleeding and Jack could tell that Mac had lost a lot of blood.

“Oh my god, oh my god,” Jack heard Bozer freaking out behind him.

“Bozer! Go outside and call Matty. Update her and get an ambulance in here quickly,” Jack ordered and turned back to Mac. He gently pulled the IV out of Mac's arm, deciding that was the best first step. He hated seeing the knife sticking out of Mac’s leg, but he knew better than to pull it out. He did however gently rip the piece of paper off the knife. It was soaked in blood, but Jack could make out thick black words that said ‘Be Seeing You’. Jack crumpled up the paper in disgust and threw it. He then pressed a hand to Mac’s bleeding stomach and tried to wake him again. “Mac, I really need you to wake up buddy, come on, let me know that you’re okay,” He patted Mac softly on the cheek as he continued to talk.

Jack let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding when Mac’s blue eyes fluttered open. “Oh thank god,” He said with a relieved sigh.

“Jack?” Mac asked weakly and Jack was afraid he might cry.

“Yeah bud, I’m here, you’re safe, you’re okay,” He said, stroking Mac’s unbruised cheek

“I don’t...feel okay…” Mac said, grimacing and letting his eyelids flutter shut.

“Hey now, stay with me,” Jack urged and Mac opened his eyes back up.

“Mac!” Bozer reentered the room and rushed to kneel next to Jack.

“Boz…” Mac said, clearly glad to see his friend. Bozer looked at Jack and he could see the fear and panic in the young man’s eyes. Jack knew that his own eyes were probably matching.

“He’s going to be okay Bozer. When’s medical getting here?” Jack asked

“Five minutes, Matty had an ambulance waiting just outside of the perimeter.”

“Murdoc…” Mac slurred and Jack shushed him.

“He got away, but we’ll catch him next time, now in the meantime, what do you say we get you out of this chair, huh?” Jack said, grimacing as he looked at the contraption. “Bozer, do you think you can pick those locks?” Jack asked, not wanting to take his hands off of Mac’s wound.

“Yeah, yeah, Murdoc left some tools,” Bozer jumped up, clearly glad to have a job.

“Murdoc, he…” Mac gasped, shifting anxiously.

“Hush now, we will worry about Murdoc later,”

“No, Jack,” Mac said his voice surprisingly strong and filled with annoyance. “He knows...he knows where his...son is…” Mac got out the sentence finally and closed his eyes like it had exhausted him. Jack realized why Mac had been so determined to get it out.

“Mac, open up your eyes,” He said loudly, and Mac obeyed with a slight jump. Jack reached up one hand to press the com in his ear, ignoring the blood that got smeared in the process. “Matty?”

“The ambulance will be there in three minutes, how’s MacGyver?” Her voice crackled in his ear.

“Yeah, not good, but we have another problem. Mac just told me that Murdoc knows where his son is being held. I can only assume that he’s going to try to get his son before skipping town,”

“I will alert the team watching Cassian and send backup immediately. Tell Mac good work and that he’s earned a few days off,” Matty joked, but Jack could hear the worry behind it.

“Will do, Matty,” He responded, then to Mac he said, “She said good work and you have earned yourself a few days off.” Mac smiled weakly as Bozer came back over with a few tools in his hands. Jack nodded at the restraints on Mac’s arms and feet, indicating that Bozer should do those first. Jack was pretty sure that the band around Mac’s chest was the only thing keeping the agent upright. They could undo that one when the paramedics got there. 

Bozer undid the first armband impressively fast. Mac hissed in pain as his arm fell off to the side of the armrest and jerked his injured body.

“Sorry, Mac,” Bozer apologized as he started on the first leg band.

“S’okay,” Mac mumbled as he blinked slowly.

“Hey Mac, stay awake, talk to me,” Jack pleaded, but he could tell he was fighting a losing battle. Mac passed out just as the paramedics arrived. Jack stepped back to give them space. He knew that Matty would’ve already briefed them on the situation and he trusted them to do their job.

Jack watched in almost a haze as the two men checked Mac over, shouting out injuries as they found them. He watched as Bozer undid the last restraint and the paramedics gently placed Mac’s limp form on a stretcher.

“Jack!” Bozer shouted, and Jack realized that he’d probably said his name several times.

“Bozer?”

“Matty convinced the paramedics to let us ride in the ambulance with Mac, but we’ve got to go,” Bozer said and Jack realized that the paramedics were wheeling Mac out of the room.

“Right,” Jack shook himself out of his daze and followed the paramedics. They loaded Mac into the ambulance and Jack and Bozer jumped in after them. Jack sat next to Mac on the opposite side of the paramedic. He went to take Mac’s hand before realizing that it was injured too, so he settled for just resting his hand gently on Mac’s arm. “It’s alright buddy, we got you,” He murmured. Bozer leaned forward and put his hand over Jack’s.

“Stay with us, Mac,” Bozer pleaded.

*****

Mac regained consciousness sluggishly, it took him a while to fight his way to the surface. He opened his eyes and stared at the white ceiling tiles for a few moments before he realized that he was in a hospital. Between the whiteness of his surroundings and the pain he felt in his body, a hospital was the most logical conclusion. He wasn’t surprised to see Jack’s face pop into his line of sight.

“Look who’s awake!” Jack said loudly, a big smile on his face. Mac winced as the sound sent a wave of pain through his skull. “Oh sorry,” Jack whispered, noting Mac’s grimace.

“Mac, do you remember what happened?” It was Matty’s voice, but turning his head to look at her wasn’t appealing at the current moment, so Mac responded while still looking at the ceiling.

“Murdoc,” he said simply. He felt a flare of panic as he thought about what the man had done to him, how close he'd come to not making it out of that room.

“Hey, hey, breathe, it’s okay, you’re safe,” Jack hurried to assure him, noticing Mac’s panic immediately. Mac forced himself to take a few deep breaths, or as deep as his body would let him at least, god everything hurt. “There we go,” Jack soothed.

“How long have I been here?” Mac asked, partially to distract himself.

“Three days, you’ve been in and out, but this is the first time you’ve really seemed aware,” Jack answered.

“What about Murdoc? Jack, he knows where his son is, he’s going to go after Cassian,” Mac said, speaking quickly when he remembered that important detail.

“I know bud, you managed to warn us when we found you,” Jack said with a proud smile.

“But it didn’t help, did it?” Mac guessed and watched as Jack’s face fell, giving him the answer. Now, Mac did turn his head slowly to look at Matty. The director was sitting in a chair next to his bed, her face serious. “Did it?” Mac asked again, directing the question at Matty who he knew would give him a straight answer.

“No, even with the guards doubled and on alert, Murdoc still managed to get past them. He killed them and escaped with his son.” Matty said and Mac could see the pain and anger in her eyes.

“So, what’s the damage?” He asked, not wanting to think about Murdoc still being free for any longer. “My injuries…” He prompted when neither Jack or Matty spoke.

“Oh, um, you lost a lot of blood, which was the main concern. You have a concussion, you got shot, stabbed a couple times, and sliced a couple more. So lots of stitches, blood transfusions, and fluids. Oh, and they took samples of the drug Murdoc used on you so they were able to identify it and make a treatment.” Jack gave him a rundown of his injuries. Mac could feel the pain from each wound as he described it.

“Ouch,” was what he said out loud.

“To say the least, kid,” Jack said with a wry chuckle. Mac gave him a small smile as he struggled to keep his eyes open, which was getting harder to do by the second.

“Get some rest, Mac,” Matty said, her voice sounding more gentle than Mac had ever heard it before. Mac’s eyes closed on their own accord, the last thing he heard before he fell asleep was Jack’s voice saying,

“Riley and Bozer are going to be pissed. They leave for ten minutes and he wakes up…”

*****

Jack woke up to a dark room and the sound of voices. It took him a few seconds to reorient himself. He remembered that he was in Mac’s hospital room, and sitting in the most uncomfortable chair known to man.

The voices continued whispering and Jack realized that they belonged to Mac and Bozer. Bozer was telling Mac the story of how Fletcher had shown up at their house and gave Murdoc up. Mac kept interrupting Bozer’s excited whispers to ask questions and clarify details.

The whole thing was so normal that Jack couldn’t help but smile. After everything that happened, it was nice to see that Bozer and Mac would always be Bozer and Mac. It made him think that Mac was going to be alright.

Jack had to admit that the kid had him scared. Jack had spent those first three days in the hospital being worried and miserable. He’d been unpleasant to everyone around him, but he hadn’t cared. His worry for Mac had eclipsed everything else.

Once Mac woke up, Jack was finally able to breathe again. Mac was going to be okay, physically at least. Jack could see the panic in Mac’s eyes whenever he spoke or thought about Murdoc. Jack knew that it was going to take Mac a long time to recover mentally and emotionally from that trauma, but Jack had all the faith in the world that Mac would be able to. He knew it would be a long road, but Mac was the strongest person he knew.

Still, seeing Mac joke around with Bozer lifted a weight off of Jack’s chest. Mac would recover, not only because he was strong, but because he had the support of the team. They were family and would get through this together.

“Jack, I know you’re awake,” Mac’s voice brought him back to the present.

“Yeah, thanks to you knuckleheads chatting away,” Jack said, pretending to be annoyed, but based on Bozer’s chuckle, he didn’t succeed.

“Hey, I was just filling my boy in on all of the awesome secret agent stuff I got to do. Like pat down a bad guy for a gun, I’d never done that before!” Bozer said enthusiastically and this time it was Mac who gave a soft chuckle.

“Oh my god, what time is it?” Riley groaned when their conversation woke her up. She looked at her watch and groaned again. “It’s 3 am you, lunatics, go to sleep,”

“Yeah, my sleep schedule has been all out of whack,” Mac said as if that explained why they were all awake at 3 in the morning.

“And I can’t sleep in those god-awful chairs, I have no idea how you guys do, so I decided to keep Mac company,” Bozer finished the explanation.

“Okay, there will be plenty of time to chat in the morning, how about right now, we all try to get some sleep, even you Bozer,” Jack said. As much as he loved joking around and bickering with his teammates, and he really did, he couldn’t handle it this late, or early, or whatever it was.

“Dude come on, I was just getting to the part with the EMP,” Bozer whined.

“There was an EMP?” Mac sounded extremely interested.

“Yeah man, Fletcher must’ve left it-”

“Nope, that is a story to be continued tomorrow, right now it’s sleep time,” Jack said.

“I agree with Jack,” Riley said with a yawn.

“Okay, we’ll go to bed, after this story,” Bozer offered

“I agree with Boz,” Mac said with a bright smile.

“Enough,” Matty’s voice caused them all to jump. Jack had forgotten that she was there. Matty didn’t normally participate in hospital room campouts, but she had apparently been worried enough about Mac to participate in this one. “Bozer, you can finish the story tomorrow. We are already getting terrible nights of sleep, we don’t need to keep getting woken up by your mouth on top of it. And you,” She said, directing this at Mac, “You need as much sleep as you can get to recover. So either you go to sleep, or I call in a nurse to put you to sleep,” Matty threatened and no one in the room doubted that she would do it.

“Yes Ma’am,” Mac said, looking amused more than anything at her threat. 

"Mom and dad get grumpy when they are sleepy," Bozer said in a fake whisper that was clearly heard by everyone in the room.

"Bozer, if I hear another word out of you I am going to kick you out of this hospital room," Matty said sternly. Bozer put up his hands in surrender and leaned back in his seat.

“Goodnight everyone,” Mac said and there was a chorus of goodnights from the team.

“Goodnight kid,” Jack said, but he didn’t go back to sleep, at least not right away. Seeing Mac and the others peacefully sleeping, Jack was filled with a warm feeling.

He was glad that their family was back together again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a nice long chapter to finish it off! I hope you guys enjoyed the story, let me know what you think of it, your comments make my day :-)


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